Indiana · County property tax · ACS 2024
Jefferson County Property Taxes
The median homeowner in Jefferson County pays $1,252 a year, an effective rate of 0.64%, well below the U.S. average.
- $1,252
- Median tax / yr · Below-median bill
- 0.64%
- Effective rate · Below-median rate
- -37%
- vs U.S. average
- #53 of 92
- rank in IN
The verdict
Homeowners in Jefferson County pay a median $1,252 a year in property tax, an effective rate of 0.64%, more affordable than 67% of U.S. counties (Census ACS 2024).
- $1,252
- Median annual tax bill, 2024
- 0.64%
- Effective rate on median home
- #1040 of 3135
- U.S. counties by tax burden
- -37%
- vs the national average bill
Effective rate is the median property tax bill divided by the median home value ($194,600). U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024.
Census Bureau ACS property tax data for Indiana. Population: 32,998. Owner-occupied homes: 9,188.
The median annual property tax in Jefferson County is $1,252, which is 22% lower than the Indiana state average and 37% below the national average. The effective tax rate is 0.64% on a median home value of $194,600. Property taxes represent 1.9% of the median household income in this county.
Jefferson County's rate standing among U.S. counties
Primary signal
The effective rate sits near the national middle
Jefferson County's 0.64% effective rate sits near the middle of 3,135 tracked counties (more affordable than 67%).
Decision signal 2
The bill sits well below the national median
Homeowners in Jefferson County pay a median annual property tax of $1,252, well below the national median and notably lower than the Indiana state median. On a $194,600 median home, that works out to an effective rate of 0.64% once the local assessment base and millage are combined.
Decision signal 3
Income carries a light tax share
Property taxes in Jefferson County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.9% of the $64,577 median household income.
Decision signal 4
Near the middle of Indiana counties by effective rate
Jefferson County ranks #53 of 92 counties in Indiana by effective rate (42% of in-state counties pay a lower rate).
Informational notice
Figures describe the median homeowner household in Jefferson County as reported to the Census Bureau; your parcel can differ. Not tax, legal, or financial advice: check the county assessor or a qualified professional before decisions that depend on these numbers.
A falling rate took the edge off
Jefferson County's effective rate fell 13.8% across the 4-year span while its median home value rose 40.0%, leaving the median bill 20.6% higher at $1,252. That rate move is larger than the one in 58% of counties, so a good deal of the market's rise never reached the bill.
Effective rate is the published median bill divided by the published median home value, so the two multiply back to the bill exactly; the rate's movement here is derived from those two figures rather than read from the rounded published rate. Both are ACS 5-year survey estimates for the median owner-occupied household, compared across non-overlapping releases. They describe what the Census published, not a local policy, assessment, or exemption change.
How to read this county's bill
Bills rose across 2020-2024, from $1,038 to $1,252, a gain of 21%. This is a comparison of published ACS medians, not an explanation of a particular property's assessment or tax bill.
The largest reported group here falls at the bottom of the national range: 2,820 of 9,188 owner-occupied homes (30.7%) report annual real-estate taxes under $800. This distribution describes reported owner-occupied homes, not an affordability judgment for any property.
Both figures cluster near the middle of the national range, and the median bill comes to 1.9% of median household income. Counties like this are the reason a national average exists at all, and also the reason it explains so little.
The share above is the median annual bill divided by median household income, a ratio of two county-level medians rather than a household-by-household figure.
What Jefferson County Homeowners Actually Pay
The single largest group of Jefferson County homeowners, 2,820 of 9,188 owner-occupied homes (30.7%), pays less than $800 a year. The median is one point in this spread, not a typical bill.
- Less than $800 30.7% (2,820)
- $800 to $1,499 28.8% (2,644)
- $1,500 to $1,999 14.7% (1,352)
- $2,000 to $2,999 12.1% (1,116)
- $3,000 or more 10.1% (926)
Census ACS 2024, table B25102. Bands and the no-tax share sum to 100%.
330 homes here (3.6%) report no real estate tax at all. Exemptions are set by state: how Indiana handles assessments and appeals.
With vs Without Mortgage
In Jefferson County, mortgaged homeowners pay 13% more than those without a mortgage, a gap that typically tracks higher home values rather than a different tax rate.
Jefferson County's effective rate vs peers
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value), ACS 2024.
Jefferson County's effective rate is higher than 42% of the 92 counties in Indiana - ranking #53 of 92.
Where Jefferson County sits among every U.S. county
Effective property tax rate (median tax ÷ median home value)
0.64% Among the most affordable more affordable than 67% of 3,135 U.S. counties
Show national distribution
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more U.S. counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2024
Jefferson County vs Benchmarks
| Metric | Jefferson County | Indiana Avg | U.S. Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Annual Tax Below-median bill | |||
| Effective Tax Rate Below-median rate | |||
| Median Home Value | |||
| Tax as % of income Below-median income burden | 1.9% | - | - |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates. Tax-burden differences across rows reflect millage decisions, assessment-ratio practices, and the residential-vs-commercial mix of each tax base.
Jefferson County is QUIET · LIGHT on ACS medians, still verify your parcel card before quoting the county figure. Estimate appeal savings · Indiana counties.
Jefferson County rate trail · QUIET
| Year | Median Tax (vs prior release) | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,252 +5.1% | 0.64% |
| 2023 | $1,191 +7.5% | 0.66% |
| 2022 | $1,108 +1.7% | 0.66% |
| 2021 | $1,089 +4.9% | 0.73% |
| 2020 | $1,038 | 0.75% |
Each row is a separate ACS 5-year release, and consecutive releases share four of their five survey years. The percentage beside each bill is therefore movement in the published estimate against the previous release, not a single year's tax change. The two releases largely describe the same households. For change over time, compare releases that do not overlap.
Jefferson County: tax takes only 1.9% of income
Counties near Jefferson County's effective rate
On effective rate, Jefferson County sits nearest Latah County (ID), Bannock County (ID), Whitfield County (GA).
On published median-tax change, the nearest matches are Story County (IA), Coffee County (GA), Mitchell County (TX).
How peers are chosen
These are the nearest cross-state matches in the published Census data, not neighboring counties or recommendations. Peers are rebuilt with each data release; see the calculation method.
Similar effective rates
Similar published median-tax changes, 2020–2024
Jefferson County: only 2% of returns show Schedule A real-estate tax
Tax year 2022: 350 of 14,860 returns from Jefferson County reported real estate taxes, averaging $2,963 - 34% of those reporters sat in the $100-200k AGI band.
What this IRS county file does not say
Amounts are reported before the SALT cap, not deducted; the share is of filers, not homeowners. Source: IRS SOI county data, tax year 2022.
Other Counties in Indiana
Jefferson County rate FAQs
- What is the average property tax in Jefferson County, Indiana?
- The median annual property tax in Jefferson County is $1,252, an effective rate of 0.64% on a $194,600 median home (Census ACS, 2024).
- How does Jefferson County property tax compare to the national average?
- Property taxes in Jefferson County run well below the national median of $1,993, an effective rate of 0.64% versus 0.92% nationally.
- What is the tax affordability score for Jefferson County?
- Jefferson County, Indiana scores B- (66/100) on PlainPropertyTax's tax affordability composite across 5 Census ACS dimensions (effective rate, bill size, income share, mortgage gap, and home-value/income). Its strongest scored dimension here is mortgage premium at B (+$147). The score compares published county medians to U.S. percentiles, it is not a personal bill and not advice to buy, sell, appeal, or relocate.
- What percentage of income goes to property taxes in Jefferson County?
- Property taxes in Jefferson County run a bit below the commonly cited 2%-4% national benchmark, at about 1.9% of the $64,577 median household income.
- Are property taxes increasing in Jefferson County?
- The ACS median property-tax bill for Jefferson County jumped 20.6% between the 2020 and 2024 5-year releases, from $1,038 to $1,252, a 4-year span. These are survey estimates covering five years each, so this compares the two releases furthest apart rather than consecutive ones, which overlap and would mostly measure the same households twice.
What to do with Jefferson County's QUIET rate
Jefferson County's $1,252 median bill sits well below the U.S. median - still size a parcel estimate; local millage and exemptions move the real bill. Estimate your bill →
Income burden is light here: about 1.9% of Jefferson County's $64,577 median household income goes to the property-tax bill.
Nationwide peers by effective rate (then bill)
Rate-first peers for Jefferson County's QUIET effective rate, then a disjoint out-of-state bill set so the two neighborhoods stay distinct.
Similar effective rate
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS effective rate. This county: 0.64%.
Similar median bill
Nearest out-of-state counties by ACS median annual tax. This county: $1,252/yr. Rate peers are excluded so the two link sets stay distinct.
Read with Jefferson County
Nearest ABS(median_tax) ACS peers for Jefferson County (QUIET · LIGHT), replacing the old fixed Keep exploring strip.
QUIET LIGHT
Coleman County, TX
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Jefferson County at $1,252/yr; rate 1.35% vs Jefferson County 0.64%.
Lee County, AL
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Jefferson County at $1,252/yr; rate 0.48% vs Jefferson County 0.64%.
Marshall County, KY
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Jefferson County at $1,252/yr; rate 0.72% vs Jefferson County 0.64%.
Washington County, NC
ABS(median_tax) peer · tied with Jefferson County at $1,252/yr; rate 0.99% vs Jefferson County 0.64%.
Indiana county set
State ACS overview for every published Indiana county rate and median bill.
Assessment cycle basics
Jefferson County stamps QUIET · LIGHT - how assessed value and millage become the ACS median bill.
Data vintage and method
Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.
Property tax data reflects median amounts paid by homeowners. Effective rates are calculated as median tax divided by median home value.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, county median real-estate taxes · 2024 Jefferson County (QUIET · LIGHT) - ACS medians, not a parcel bill.